Extraction process and apparatus



.Fune 27, 1950 B. B. BEESON 2,512,710

EXTRACTION PROCESS AND APPARATUS 2 Sheefos-Shegjl Filed Nov. 30, 1946 a L ll u l mron. 27 fii'i'jzeeswa,

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2 B. B. BEESON EXTRACTION PROCESS AND APPARATUS June 27, 1950 Flled Nov 30 1946 tention.

Patented June 27, 1950 EXTRACTION PROCESS AND APPARATUS Bert B. Beeson, Piqua, Ohio, 'assignor to The grench Oil Mill Machinery Company, Piqua,

Application November 30, 1946, Serial bra 713,377

8 Claims. (Cl. 260-4124) This invention relates to extraction of liquids from materials such, for example, as the solvent extraction of fatty or oily substances from meat scraps, vegetable seed meals and other fat or oil bearing materials.

In the solvent extraction of the fat or oil contained in materials, such for instance, as meat scraps and the meal of vegetable seeds, a well known practice is'to pass a volatile liquid solvent through the fat or oil bearing material while it is held or confined in the containers. This practice can be conducted in a batch systemin which the material is treated in different batches in a container, or it canbe effected in a continuous system in which a series of containers carrying the material move in succession in an endless or closed circuit, the solvent being applied to the material to percolate or drain therethrough in the successive containers during their travel in thecircuit. The completeness of extraction depends upon variou considerations, including the condition of the fat or oil bearing material, the solvent temperature and. other conditions, and it also depends to a very considerable extent on the quantity of solvent which is applied to and,

drains through the-material and on the amount of solvent retained in or failing to drain from the fat or oil bearing material. In a continuous system, the capacity of a unit depends, among other things, on the rate at which the solvent will drain through the material, commonly termed the drainage rate, and on the amount of solvent retained in the spent treated material, commonly termed the solvent re- One object of the invention is to improve and materially increase the capacity and efiiciency of extraction processes and apparatus by increasing the drainage of liquid from and decreasing its retention by material while held in a container or containers.

While this invention is especially suited for use in solvent extraction processes and apparatus of the continuous system type, it is not restricted in its various possible applications to such solvent I extraction processes and apparatus.

Another object of the invention is'to effect the stated improved results by applying a vibrating or agitating force to container for transmission to fat or oil bearing material therein to inart of solvent extraction that to thus vibrateor agitate the material would tend to pack it or make it denser and reduce the drainage of solvent therethrough, but I have discovered, on the contrary, that the application of a vibrating or agitating force to the containers of the material produces an unexpected, greatly increased rate of drainage of the solvent through the material and materially reduces the amount of solvent retained in the material,

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of apparatus embodying my invention and for carrying out my improved process, but it is to be understood that the drawings and following description exemplify only one of various different applications of the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the appended claims.

r In said drawings:

.Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a solvent extractor of the vertical tower or elevator type embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, front, sectional elevation thereof, on an enlarged scale. 1 s

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation'showing one of the vibrators for the material container.

The extraction apparatus as illustrated in the drawings is of the known'tower or elevator type having an upright housing or casing I0 providing a high chamber within which is an endless travelling elevator or conveyor including a series of containers or baskets H for the material to be treated, arranged to travel in succession upwardly and downwardly in an endless circuit of the chamber. The fat or oil bearing material may be introduced as usual into the travelling baskets or containers .prior to each upward passage thereof in the chamber, and the solvent is. applied or delivered to the material in the baskets for drainage through the material during the upward travel of the baskets, the material after the solvent has drained therefrom being discharged from the baskets in succession and replaced by'new material after the completion of each-ascent of the baskets and prior to the beginningof their next ascent in the chamber.

As usual, the baskets or containers are provided with perforated or open mesh bottoms l2 and, as shown, are mounted in spaced relation between a pairof parallel endless conveyor or sprocket chains l3 which pass around pairs of sprocket. wheels [4 and l5 rotatably mounted relocated in the top portion of the housing at one side of the elevator chamber, and the conveyor chains extend obliquely downwardly and inwardly from this top pair of wheels and pass over pairs of guiding wheels or sprockets l6 and 11 located below and to one side of the top wheels I5, from whence the chains extend downwardly to the bottom pair of wheels 14. By this arrangement of the conveyor, the topmost wheels for the conveyor chains are offset laterally to one side of the main ascending and descending portions of the conveyor whereby they :are located over or above a discharge hopper l8 formed or provided on an offset side portion ofthe elevator housing,

so that each basket, in being carriedby'the conveyor chains around the top sprockets, is inverted above the discharge hopper in position :for the material in the basket to drop therefrominto the discharge hopper for discharge from the elevator housing. I

Each pair of supporting and guiding sprockets or'Whetlsfo'rthe conveyor-chains mayb'e secured onash'a'ft journalled in suitable bearings on the housing, and "one of the shafts, asthe shaft iii 'for the top "wheels #5, may be driven for driving the conveyor, as by-a drive wheel 28, secured to theshaftoutside of the housing. The shaft for one pail-of wheels, for example, thebottom pair 14, may be journalled in bearings 2i which are adjustablymounted onth'e housing to permitad- Fjustment "of the shaft, as by "adjusting screws 22 for maintaining the conveyor chains under suitable tensi'On.

The solvent or miscella 'ispreferably applied to the material in the baskets'during their upward travel in "the treating chamber, as by means of one or more'valve-controlled spray pipes 23 arranged to deliver the solvent from a suitable tank or source of supply and sprayitonthe top ofthe material in'eachbasketas the basket'travels, past the spray "pipe 'or pipes.

The solvent is allowed to percolate or drain through the material in the baskets "and discharge through their perforated bottoms'during their upward travel in the treating chamber; the solvent ipreferably dripping from the bottom-of each basket into the next basket below, and 'finally'into the bottom "of the "treating chamber from which the solvent or miscella may be removed in the usual or an suitable manner. U

"In'order to increase the'rate of drainage of the solvent through thefat or oil bearing material "and ensure 'a decreased retention of solvent in the material, the "baskets or "containers II are "subjected to a vibrating r agitating force during or after the application of the solventtothe ma- .passeach of the spray pipes. The'vibrators may be alike an'd'of any suitable type or construction adapted to subject the containers or baskets to vibrating or agitating force for transmission to the material therein during the travel of the-containers or baskets past the vibrators. In this way, eachcontainer is vibrated or agitated during and after the time that-the solvent is being applied to the material therein from each of the spray pipes, and also while the solvent or miscella is dripping into one container from another container above, during the upward travel of the containers.

The vibrators shown in the drawings are of a known, pneumatically operated type, each comprising a,-piston 28 reciprocate'd in a cylinder 2? "by pressurefiuid supplied to the'cylinders, as by a pipe 28, so that the piston will strike blows alternately on opposite ends or heads of the cylinder and thereby produce forcible vibrations of the cylinder. Each vibrator is suitably mounted, preferably by meansof a resilient shock absorbingbaseor support 22 exteriorly on the elevator housing, and the vibratory cylinder is operatively connected. to or associated with a plunger 39 which passes through and is capable of limited reciprocation in a suitably packed hole 31 in the adjacent wall of the housing for transmitting "the vibrations of the' vibrator to the conveyor baskets H as they travel past the plunger. The plunger may be provided at its inner end with a vertical plate-or shoe '32 positionedso as to "contact with or engage a shoe or plate33 on the adjjacentside-o'f each'conveyor basket asthe basket passes' the vibrator plunger. The plunger shoe is shown of-a verticallength somewhat greater than *the distances between adjacent conveyor baskets, so that one basket will contact with the lower portion of the plunger "shoe before the next basket above passes clear of the upper portioncf the shoe. In this way, each- 'basket'will remain inoperative engagement'with the plunger shoe during a substantial distance of the travel of the basket and'will -be subjected during this time to 'the vibrating "or agitating force of the vibrator. The plunger shoe 32 may be provided with an outwardly-bent lower end, and each basket shoe 33 provided with an inwardly bent upper end so as to guide the baskets into operativecontact "with thevibrator shoe and-prevent possible inter- "feren'cepf the vibrator with the travel 'ofthe b'askets past the "same.

I have also found that by '"similarly subjecting 'eac'h conveyor basket to vibrating force when it is inverted over the discharge hopper '18, a very quick and complete emptying of the spent oil bearing material from the basket into the hopper-is ensured. 'The vibrator 25a shown for "this purpose may be and preferably is "of like 'construc'tion and operation to "those above -described for increasing the solvent drainage. Vibration' of the baskets "by such a vibrator has proved to be much more effective in thoroughly and quickly emptying the basket of its contents than-striking the inverted baskets a blow with a 'knocke'r.

The application of a vibrating "force to the baskets in such manner as hereinbefore explained greatly accelerates the drainage rate, making it practicable toapply much moresolvent or miscella than it "would otherwise be posfsible-to get throughthe =fia'ke's or-Jparticles of the material undergoing -ex traetion. The fat content is consequently reduced mu'ch' mcre rapidly thanhas been possible heretofore and the capacity of such an extraction -unitfis greatly I increased. The rate of vibrationsof the baskets or containers may vary-through a range from a very slow rate of only'a few per minute to a very rapid rate per second-but a medium rate of about 1200, more or less, per minute'is preferred.

As before explained and shown in the draw- -'-ings,-one cf-th'e vibrators maybe' 'arranged to act on the baskets or containers at a position thereof aboveE that where the, solvent ,is, supplied to the material. This second Sta e vibration is a useful contribution to the art. of extraction because it decreases the amount of'solvent re-,.

tainedin the material and the solvent carries some fat-in it; and it also reduces the application of heat to the extracted' material:necessary to drive ofi the retained solvent.

My invention can be applied 'profitably in the extraction of fatty substances-or liquids' from applicable to liquid extraction from .othermaterials and to other processes, not herein specifically mentioned. Any of the commonly used solvents, such as hexane, heptane, ethers, alcohols, etc. can be used in a process or apparatus according to this invention.

In the claims of this application, the term perforated bottoms, as applied to the containers or baskets is intended to include bottoms or other appropriate portions of the containers of any mesh, porous or permeable character which will allow the required discharge from the containers of the solvent or liquid draining from the material therein.

I claim as my invention:

1. A process of solvent extraction of fatty oils from oleaginous material, comprising applying a solvent for the fatty oils to the top of a confined body of the material, draining off from the bottom of said body, the solvent that seeps through the material, and regularly, horizontally and repeatedly vibrating said confined body and the seeping solvent therein to increase the rate of drainage of the solvent through the material.

2. A process for solvent extraction of fatty oils from oleaginous materials in loose particles, which comprises conducting said materials in confined batches in succession along a selected path, depositing a solvent liquid on the tops of said batches in succession, and draining it 01f after it has percolated through each bath, and successively locally and repeatedly vibrating said batches with periodic regularity while still confined, in horizontal directions crosswise of said path during travel of that batch along a selected portion of said path while said liquid is passing therethrough, to increase rate of drainage therethrough.

3. A process of solvent extraction of fatty oils from oleaginous material, comprising carrying thematerial in batches in succession in a circuit in a portion of which they move in an ascending path, applying a solvent for the fatty matter to the top of the material in each batch for drainage therethrough during said ascending movement of the batches, draining off the solvent from each batch during the ascent, and locally and horizontally vibrating the ascending batches with solvent with periodic regularity to increase the drainage of the solvent through and from the material.

4. A process of solvent extraction of fatty oils from oleaginous material, comprising carrying the material in batches in succession in a circuit in a portion of which the batches move in succession one above another in an ascending path, applying the solvent for the fatty matter to the top of the material in the batches in succession, discharginglthe solvent from each batch during their said ascending movement uponthe top of the ibatch'next below'it,and=horizontal1y and repeatedly vibrating the ascending b'a-tches with periodic regularity atllocations. intheir "ascending movement both below J and above: the

point of .applicationzofwthe solventgto thematerial for increasing the drainage-.oithe solvent through andfrom-the material.

. v.5. In a solvent extractionv apparatusl-rofwthe ilty-pe'. having"; a. housing, an: .endless. flexible con- .veyor, and a series of containers attached togsaid conveyor in succession therealong, vcarrying'oil bearing material and having. perforated bot- :toms, 'said conveyor carrying said" containers up- .wardlyand downwar'dlyin a circuitfin said housing, the improvement .therein-' whichc'omprises ...the combination therewith of deliveryp-ipesfor applyingian oil solventto the material in said containers. during their ,upward travel in the housing for drainagethroughthe material, and a vibrator disposed at the side of said. upwardly movin'gcontainersand having a horizontally movable vibrating element with an upright shoe along the path of travel of the containers and engaging in succession with the sides of said upwardly moving containers for imparting thereto repeated horizontal vibrations to thereby increase the drainage of the solvent through the material in the containers.

6. In a solvent extraction apparatus of the type including a housing, an endless conveyor therein, and a series of containers attached to said conveyor in succession therealong and carrying oil bearing material and having open tops and perforated bottoms, said conveyor having vertically movable stretches for carrying said containers upwardly and downwardly in an endless circuit in said housing, a liquid discharge pipe for discharging an oil solvent upon the material in said containers in succession during their upward travel in the housing for drainage through the material, said housing having a discharge hopper over which said containers move in inverted position in succession at the end of their ascent and the start of their downward travel for discharging material from the containers in succession into said hopper, the addition thereto of a vibrator with a horizontally vibrating element in said housing engaging with said containers in succession during their ascent to horizontally vibrate said ascending containers and thereby increase the drainage of the solvent through the material in the ascending containers,

' tion above said hopper at the end of their ascent and the start of their descent to facilitate the discharge of the material from the containers into the hopper.

7. An apparatus for extracting oily matter from oil bearing materials comprising an elongated vertically positioned container having inlet and outlet conduits attached thereto, said container surrounding an endless belt conveyor having a series of perforated buckets attached thereto adapted to travel about a certain fixed axis and within said container, and a vibrator having a vibratable horizontally operating element attached to the wall of the container arranged in position to impart vibrations to said buckets so as to increase the drainage of the solvent used in the extraction, through and from the material.

8. An apparatus for extracting oily matter from 

1. A PROCESS OF SOLVENT EXTRATION OF FATTY OILS FROM OLEOGINOUS MATERIAL, COMPRISING APPLYING A SOLVENT FOR THE FATTY OILS TO THE TOP OF A CONFINED BODY OF THE MATERIAL, DRAINING OFF FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID BODY, THE SOLVENT THAT SEEPS THROUGH THE MATERIAL, AND REGULARLY, HORIZONTALLY AND REPEATEDLY VIBRATING SAID CONFINED BODY AND THE SEEPING, SOLVENT THEREIN TO INCREASE THE RATE OF DRAINAGE OF THE SOLVENT THROUGH THE MATERIAL. 